"The French navy has intercepted a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean suspected to be part of the shadow fleet that enables Russia to export oil despite sanctions. This morning, the French Navy boarded and searched an oil tanker from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag, President Emmanuel Macron said on X. The operation was carried out on the high seas in the Mediterranean, with the support of several of our allies, he added, saying the vessel had been diverted."
"The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions against Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but Moscow has adapted to most measures and continues to sell millions of barrels of oil to countries such as India and China, typically at discounted prices. The term shadow fleet describes hundreds of unregulated ageing tankers from around the world in varying states of repair carrying oil from Russia to states including China and India."
French naval forces boarded, searched and diverted the Russian-flagged tanker Grinch on the high seas in the western Mediterranean with allied support. Document checks raised doubts about the regularity of the vessel’s reported Comoros flag, and the ship is being escorted to anchorage for further verification. The vessel was located between southern Spain and northern Morocco and reportedly sailed from Murmansk. The interception follows other US and European operations targeting Russian-linked tankers. Hundreds of ageing, unregulated tankers in a global ‘shadow fleet’ help Moscow continue oil exports to buyers such as India and China despite EU sanctions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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